LP: With Garci, Binay camp ‘dream team’ of corruption, poll fraud

MANDAUE CITY—The camp of Vice President Jejomar Binay is now the “dream team” because they’ve got corruption and poll cheating experts, according to Liberal Party.

The ruling party on Thursday expressed alarm over reports that former elections officer Virgilio Garcillano was working for Binay as a consultant.

“Dream team na ’yang grupo na ’yan. May expert ka na sa corruption, may expert ka pa sa pandaraya, ’di ba … nakakatakot talaga ’yun,” said LP spokesperson Rep. Barry Gutierrez in an interview in Manila.

According to Gutierrez, reports reaching LP have confirmed that Garcillano is indeed working for Binay.

The LP’s statement came after Garcillano was seen in the same hotel as Binay and Sen. Grace Poe before the first presidential debate held in Cagayan de Oro on Feb. 21.

When interviewed by the Inquirer, Garcillano said he was there as a “consultant” but declined to say for whom.

Both Binay and Poe denied knowing the purpose of Garcillano’s visit in the hotel.

“Mister Garcillano, his reputation precedes him. His reputation of being one of the architects of one of the most massive cases of electoral cheating sa ating kasaysayan,” Gutierrez said.

Garcillano allegedly engineered the electoral fraud in the 2004 elections in favor of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. The leaked wiretapped conversation between him and Arroyo had been dubbed the “Hello Garci” scandal.

Gutierrez then called on the public, regardless of the candidate they were supporting, to be vigilant in ensuring the integrity of the election.

“Kailangan bantayan ’yung proseso … Kahit na tayo ay nagkakatunggali dito, feeling ko naman lahat naman tayo mag-a-agree that we want a clean, honest, credible result, ’di ba? And we don’t want a result, particularly in a close election, na may doubt doon sa outcome.”